Orientations Of Dunes On Titan: Implications For Global Winds

Details Orientations Of Dunes On Titan: Implications For Global Winds Orientations Of Dunes On Titan: Implications For Global Winds

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.5207r&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #52.07; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.580

Other

Scientific paper

The Cassini Radar instrument has revealed the presence of thousands of longitudinal dunes on the surface of Titan, primarily at equatorial latitudes (Lorenz et al. 2006; Boubin et al. 2005). These features have widths of 1-2 km, heights of 100 m, and lengths from <5; km to nearly 150 km, comparable to dunes found on Earth's Namibian desert. They are radar-dark and are presumably composed of some combination of hydrocarbon particulates and erosion-produced water ice particles. The orientations of these longitudinal dunes, likely resulting from alternating wind action around their long axes, are regionally horizontal, due to global, W-E flowing winds with a possible tidal component (Tokano et al., 2001). We explore localized groupings of dune orientations, both swath-wide (over 140° longitude) and smaller ( 10°x 10°) areas in the hopes that the work will contribute to further constraining wind/atmospheric circulation patterns. Unobstructed dunes, such as those found in the T8 swath, covering 180°- 320°W longitude near the equator, have mean orientations of 80° from N. On a local scale, mountain blocks and other high elevation features divert these dunes, causing their orientations to vary, and revealing a local change in wind direction. Large, regional, land masses also appear to have an effect on dune orientations, on a nearly hemispheric scale. Dunes north of Xanadu, found in the T3 swath (0° - 140°W longitude), have a higher variation in orientation and appear to divert around Xanadu. Similar diversion patterns are seen in dunes found on the western end of the T13 swath (which passed directly over Xanadu) having orientations of 109°. This work can help constrain GCM models of wind circulation patterns by providing time-averaged data on a regional scale. The authors are funded by the Cassini project.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Orientations Of Dunes On Titan: Implications For Global Winds does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Orientations Of Dunes On Titan: Implications For Global Winds, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Orientations Of Dunes On Titan: Implications For Global Winds will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1001190